Falling and Other Stories
by CushiKitten92
Summary: A collection of side stories to 'Dorky and the Dragon' that can be read on their own, I think. No pairings yet, because they're just kids. As in, like, maybe ten or less. The stories take place before the events of DatD.
1. Falling

**Title:** Up A Creek with No Paddle, Down a Hole with No Ladder

**Summary:** Snotlout couldn't believe it. This was the sort of thing that happened to Hiccup, not him…

**Disclaimer:** What part of FAN FICTION is hard to understand? I don't own Beauty and the Beast, and I don't own How to Train Your Dragon. They belong to whoever they do. I'm not here to make money; I'm just here to entertain.

It had started when Hiccup had tripped over, well, nothing actually, but had tripped anyway. The boy was forever falling over, and in his head, Snotlout had known that it was an accident, but that wasn't the point. Hiccup had tripped, and knocked into Snotlout, who had then fired his arrow in the wrong direction, completely missing his target by a mile and accidentally killing the Ingerman pig, which was going to be the main course at Fishlegs' tenth birthday.

Everyone had blamed him. Hiccup was Hiccup, so it wasn't the smaller boy's fault, it was his. And it was so unfair!

'_Just because he's the chief's son.'_ Snotlout thought bitterly.

But, actually, not _everyone_ had blamed Snotlout. Stoick had immediately known what had happened (even though he hadn't been there. That's what made him a great chief, Snotlout decided), and made Hiccup apologize to him and to the Ingermans. And Snotlout had thought that was the end of it, but when Stoick had taken Hiccup home, his dad had spanked him. In front of everyone! That was sooo embarrassing!

'_He says it's because I bothered the Ingermans, but I know it's because I annoyed the chief'_. Snotlout said to himself. For as long he could remember, his father had told him he'd be chief one day, not Hiccup. _'And it would serve him right, for being such a stupid-head.'_

Hiccup was always in trouble, and he never did the things Vikings were supposed to do. Hiccup wouldn't be chief anyway, so Snotlout decided he would be. And his father said so anyway so there. Snotlout liked his father, most of the time, except when he was drunk, like he was right now, probably. Which was why Snotlout was out wandering in the forest.

His father was probably drinking right now because he'd upset the chief when he was supposed to be the next chief, and he'd upset the chief because he'd made the Ingerman boy cry and that was Hiccup's fault.

'_Everything is always Hiccup's fault.' _

Snotlout was so busy thinking that he didn't see the trap.

_THUD!_

Suddenly, he was in a deep hole, the kind the Vikings dug to catch unsuspecting animals and stuff. Snotlout couldn't believe it. This was the sort of thing that happened to his cousin Hiccup, not him. And yet, here he was.

The hole wasn't too deep, really. But the walls were smooth and the ground was packed hard. He couldn't get out. They didn't check these traps more than once a week, if that! Snotlout was starting to sweat. He was about to start panicking and shouting for help when a head peeked over the lip of the hole.

"Hiccup!" Snotlout was so relieved he almost forgot that he was mad at him.

"This is all your fault!" Snotlout yelled, shaking a fist at the smaller boy.

"How is this _my_ fault!" Hiccup wanted to know.

"Because…because…" Snotlout didn't know either. "Why are you here, anyway? To make me miss more targets?" He yelled. Never mind that he didn't actually have his bow or arrows with him. He'd left them at home before he went out for his walk.

"Do you want me to leave you here?" Hiccup yelled right back.

"Well, get me out of here, then!"

Hiccup got on his belly at the edge of the hole and stretched out his arms. Snotlout grabbed hold of them to haul himself up, but almost as soon as he started pulling, Hiccup started shouting.

"Ow, ow, ow, let go, Let Go, I'm Going To Fall In!" He screamed. Snotlout let go immediately. If they both got trapped, they were both dead.

"I can't believe this." Snotlout grumbled as Hiccup moved to sit on the cusp of the hole. "I'm trapped in a hole, and the only person there is the _only_ person in the entire tribe who _can't_ help me out" He smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand.

"I'll go get someone who _can _help you, then" Hiccup said, but made no move to leave.

Snotlout was a little bit relieved that he didn't leave. He didn't think he could take being all alone in a hole with no way out.

"How come you're here, anyway? Were you _following_ me?" He sneered.

"I wanted to apologize." Hiccup said, mumbling a bit, but it was clear enough for Snotlout to hear.

"I know my dad made me already," He continued "but this one's from me. Sorry."

Snotlout didn't know what to say to that. Suddenly, he wasn't angry at all.

But if he wasn't angry at Hiccup, then…now what? He didn't know this too. They sat in silence for a while, thinking.

"Why were you out here in the first place?" Hiccup asked out of the blue.

"I just felt like it." Snotlout replied. "How come _you're_ out? I heard Chief Stoick tell you not to go out for the rest of the day."

"He always says that." Hiccup made a face. "I always sneak out anyway. I wanted to see if Fishlegs was still sad about Miss Pinky."

"Miss Pinky?" Snotlout wanted to laugh.

"The pig," Hiccup clarified, not noticing. He told Snotlout the story.

Hiccup had gone to the Ingerman house, and seen Fishlegs trying to bury the pig. It wasn't going very well. Fishlegs looked so sad that it made Hiccup sad too. He didn't blame anyone, he knew it was an accident, but that just made Hiccup feel worse. He squatted beside the pig and touched it. All of a sudden, Miss Pinky jerked!

Both boys screamed, falling over themselves to get away from the squealing zombie pig. Fishlegs' parents ran out the door with their axes, looking for the attackers. When the saw the pig in the shallow grave struggling, and the two terrified boys holding on to each other and looking like they'd seen a ghost, they started laughing.

"She wasn't dead after all." Hiccup told Snotlout. "And Fishlegs made his parents promise not to kill Miss Pinky as his birthday present."

Snotlout was laughing so hard that his sides were splitting. He looked up to see Hiccup laughing as well, and realized that this was the first time he'd seen Hiccup laughing.

"Waste of a good pig." Snotlout snickered as he wiped tears from his eyes. When they were clear, he noticed that it was considerably darker than it had been a few minutes before.

"Uh, Hiccup? You'd better go for help. It's getting kind of dark…" Snotlout said nervously.

Hiccup didn't reply. He sat there motionless, and Snotlout was about to repeat himself, just in case Hiccup hadn't hear him, when suddenly Hiccup got up, and Jumped! Straight. Into. The hole.

Snotlout was too shocked to speak for a moment, but it didn't last long.

"Are you nuts? Now we're _both_ trapped!" He said in despair.

"I have an Idea." Hiccup replied. Snotlout wanted to cry. He was well acquainted with Hiccup's Ideas. Like that bola shooting thing that knocked out Gobber the Blacksmith, and the sticky stuff that kept left Ruffnut and Tuffnut _literally_ _attached_ to each other for an entire day.

"Odin, we're going to die!" Snotlout wailed.

"Listen!" Hiccup shushed him. Then he sat down. Before Snotlout could say anything, he said "Get up on my shoulders. There's a tree root you can reach up there, so you can pull yourself up."

Snotlout looked at him like he was insane, but it was starting to get _really_ dark, so he did what Hiccup said. He got up on the smaller boy's shoulders and, true enough, he could reach the edge of the hole. Actually, he could do more than reach the edge. He could have pulled himself up without the root that was reachable, like Hiccup said.

Snotlout pulled himself out of the hole. He looked down at Hiccup, who was already holding his arms up, and _just for a second_, Snotlout thought of leaving him there. Somehow, he knew it was what his father would have done.

But then the moment passed, and he knelt at the edge of the hole, pulling Hiccup smoothly up. They dusted themselves off, and looked around. It was truly night now, though the moon gave enough light to see by. The boys looked at each other. Hiccup rubbed the place where his neck met his shoulder, where Snotlout saw a boot-shaped bruise already beginning to form. Snotlout told himself he didn't care.

"Which way do we go?" They asked each other at the same time.

"You don't know which way to go?"

"Don't you?"

"I don't know, I was following _you_!"

Eventually, Snotlout helped Hiccup climb a tree so they could see the stars. They guessed Burk was south-ish, so they walked away from the brightest star they could find. The villagers eventually found them walking around in circles a few hundred meters from town. As soon as it had become dark and the two boys were missing, Stoick had organized search parties. Everyone was so relieved to find them that there was no talk of whose fault it was.

But as soon as they were alone, Spitelout, Snotlout's father, congratulated him. If he couldn't get appointed as the official chief, he could rule from behind Hiccup by sucking up. But Snotlout wasn't listening. He was too busy thinking of how wrong he'd been, and what a great chief Hiccup would make someday.

**A/N:** They're supposed to be ten or so. Can you tell? So yeah, I was writing Dorky and the Dragon, but I kept seeing the part where Snotlout says that Hiccup saved his life before, and, well, this is the result. Does it make sense? Are they too out of character?

As always, feedback is my food. Yummy.

Oh, and thanks for reading! Wow, this was a long side story!


	2. Watching

**Title:** Cloud Watching

**Summary:** It was… nice.

**Disclaimer:** What part of FAN FICTION is hard to understand? I don't own Beauty and the Beast, and I don't own How to Train Your Dragon. They belong to whoever they do. I'm not here to make money; I'm just here to entertain.

Fishlegs knew a good thing when he saw it. He may not have had the perfect eyesight everyone else took for granted, but he when he saw something good, he tried to keep it if he could.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was one of those things. Hiccup didn't laugh at his glasses; he tried to make a pair for himself so he could see the world better too. He was the only one who didn't assume there was something wrong with Fishlegs.

Fishlegs wasn't a normal boy. He was allergic to reptiles, he couldn't swim… But Hiccup wasn't normal either, so it was okay.

On days like this, Fishlegs felt lucky. He was on his way to the Haddock house, to ask if Hiccup could come out and play. Ever since Hiccup and Snotlout had been almost lost the other day, Hiccup had been spending a lot of time with the Jorgenson boy. Not that Fishlegs _disliked_ the boy. He was just… very _far_ from what Fishlegs was used to. Fishlegs was used to his quiet, funny, freckled friend. Snotlout was loud, he smelled funny, and he sometimes pushed Fishlegs when no one was looking.

Fishlegs stood in front of Hiccup's door and knocked. Valhallarama opened the door, smiling down at him.

"Why, hello Fishlegs! How nice of you to drop by! Hiccup's at the table." And she moved back to let him pass, bustling away to do something else. Fishlegs walked to the dining area by himself. He's been in Hiccup's house plenty of times, enough to know where most things were. But today, there was something new. Today, Snotlout was there.

Fishlegs didn't know why that made him mad, but it did. He all but ran out the door, mumbling a goodbye to Hiccup's mom as he passed. And that would have been that, he'd have gone home and sulked, except Hiccup had seen him.

"Fishlegs, wait!" He called. Fishlegs knew Hiccup could run way faster than he could, so he just stopped and waited. Hiccup caught up soon enough, Snotlout on his heels, looking like he hadn't run at all.

"Fishlegs, this is Snotlout, my cousin. Snotlout, this is my friend Fishlegs." Hiccup said lamely. Even he could tell there was some kind of tension in the air.

"We've met." Fishlegs said coldly. To be honest, Hiccup knew that. Burk wasn't really a very big tribe, and they all lived in the same area.

"Well, hi." Snotlout said, not sounding like himself at all. Fishlegs thought there was something missing, but he couldn't tell what…

"He wants to go fishing with us." Hiccup said, cutting across the moment of silence. Normally, Fishlegs would rather eat sea slugs than do anything with Snotlout the bully, and he thought Hiccup felt the same way. But if Hiccup was willing to try, and when he put it that way,

"Fine," Fishlegs said grudgingly, pouting. They went to their respective houses and got their stuff before meeting at the village square. Then off they went.

Fishlegs thought the day would be awful, with Snotlout trying to tell them what to do and pushing them around, but he was surprisingly nice. And what's more, he seemed more nervous than Fishlegs himself was. Fishlegs knew quite a bit about being nervous, so he could tell.

They spent the day at the inland lake beside Raven's Peak, a spot Hiccup had discovered a few months ago. The two of them always went there to hang out, but it seemed like that was the first time Snotlout had seen it. Fishlegs quite enjoyed showing him the different types of bugs and trees that lived there, and he was surprised that Snotlout paid as much attention as he did (which still wasn't a lot, honestly).

Hiccup and Fishlegs both laughed at him when he wouldn't put the worms on his own hook because it felt gross, he said, and the two of them enjoyed learning how to climb trees properly (Snotlout told them they'd been doing it wrong all these years, which was a load of hogwash, but it _was_ easier to climb his was so they stuck with it), and when they were tired, they took a dip in the lake, yelling at how cold it was.

When they laid down on a large flat rock to dry off in the Sun's last rays, they pointed up at the clouds, making fanciful shapes and marveling at their colors. It was then that Fishlegs decided he wasn't really mad at Hiccup anymore.

Hiccup was his friend. And now, it seemed, Snotlout would be too. Fishlegs found he didn't mind.

Because having friends… it was nice.

**A/N:** Kind of short, but I wanted to post something tonight because of the guilt. Yeah… not my best work, I'll be the first to admit.

As always, thank you for reading and I'd appreciate feedback! I may also accept prompts from time to time, so send them and I'll think about it.


	3. Parting

**Title:** Parting

**Summary:** "I'm sorry you're a part of it."

**Disclaimer:** What part of FAN FICTION is hard to understand? I don't own Beauty and the Beast, and I don't own How to Train Your Dragon. They belong to whoever they do. I'm not here to make money; I'm just here to entertain.

It was all so strange. So very, very strange.

He wasn't mourning _at all._

Let's start from the beginning.

The sun rose in Burk, gray and ordinary, telling the Hairy Hooligans that it was time to begin another day that promised nothing to new. But there was.

Something new, that is.

Stoick the Vast rolled on the bed he was sleeping on. He was mildly disturbed by something. There was something new.

Something new…

Something awkward…

Something…missing…?

He opened his eyes (who could sleep when there was something mysterious going on?) and found that Valhallarama had gone from their bed. That wasn't particularly new, whoever woke up first would often make breakfast before waking anyone else up. One could also eat at the Great Hall, but it was a Haddock tradition to eat the first meal of the day with the family. But there was something else…

Stoick put it out of his mind and got up anyway. There was a busy day ahead of him, and he needed to eat! But as he left the room, there was no smell of cooking food, no crackling fire, no clanging of pots or pans or such. There weren't even any footsteps.

The chief went down the stairs, tiptoeing for no apparent reason except it was quiet. But he needn't have bothered, because it was just as quiet downstairs as it was upstairs. There was nobody there.

'_Maybe she went out for some exercise?'_ Stoick thought to himself. He made breakfast quickly, looking out the window, but there was no Vlahallarama in the clearing behind the house.

As he cooked, Stoick heard footsteps going down the stairs. He turned, and saw his son rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Good Morning, Dad." He yawned. Stoick grunted in reply, busy.

For few minutes, there was only the sound of the food cooking and some clanging noise as Hiccup put some plates and stuff on the table.

"Hiccup," Stoick said, and his son looked up from the table still half-asleep and mildly surprised his father was in a talking mood.

"Have you seen your mother this morning?" He asked.

"I just woke up, Dad." Was the reply he got. Which wasn't really a reply at all.

"Go check outside the house, will you?"

"Why?"

Stoick sighed. "Because I don't know where she is, son. Now go check."

Hiccup got up and did as he was asked, but Stoick didn't like the answer. No Valhallarama anywhere.

He ate as quickly as he could, ignoring his son when he asked where his mother was. He left the Haddock house in a hurry. But as Stoick checked all the places she could be (and some places where she couldn't), and the places where she wasn't started becoming more and more plentiful, Stoick realized something.

What had been strange this morning was that her side of the bed had been completely cold.

Now past worrying, Stoick Panicked. Before the sun reached its highest point, Stoick had already assembled a search party. High and low, they searched. All traps were checked just in case, and they got as close to the dragon mountains as they dared.

But no luck.

There wasn't a sign of her anywhere. She had vanished.

For days they kept on searching. But there was nothing.

For weeks, Stoick and Hiccup held on to the hope that she'd come back, as suddenly as she had gone. But there was nothing.

After months, a funeral was held, but on the boat, there was nothing.

At the funeral, Hiccup was crying. His father was dry-eyed behind him, which made it worse. As he watched the ship burn, he had an urge to swim after it, because he hadn't checked the boat, and what if she really _was_ on it?

Hiccup looked as hard as he could, but the boat was as empty as it had been when they launched it. And he didn't know why, but that was… there was… it…

He broke away from his father and ran all the way home.

Later, Fishlegs stopped by.

"Maybe she's in a better place." He said, and Hiccup didn't know whether Fishlegs meant that his mother had been unhappy here and was living in a better place now, or whether she was…dead. Fishlegs left when he saw he'd made his friend feel _worse_, which he hadn't thought possible at all.

Snotlout stopped by too, with the Thorston Twins in tow.

"She was a nice aunt," Snotlout said. The Jorgenson family hadn't been close to them, really. Not any closer than any other family (Hiccup sometimes forgot they were related.). But it was a nice gesture.

"Maybe she wanted to marry someone else." Ruffnut suggested, tactful as ever. Ruffnut nodded, and they told Hiccup about how their father was now with this other lady and how she was nice and all, but she didn't make food the way their mom used to. Snotlout said that they were right; the new lady was a much better cook, which led to a fight, which wasn't really what Hiccup needed right then. He bid them goodbye, and they left.

And then came Astrid. Which surprised Hiccup to no end. Astrid was… Astrid. He didn't really see her with anyone, except maybe Snotlout sometimes, but even that was rare. And she certainly never talked to him more than was needed at any given time. Yet there she was, and all alone too.

"There's a club," She said. Hiccup was listening.

"There's a club for kids like us." She paused. "Kids who lost parents."

"I'm sorry you're a part of it."

Then she entered his room, totally without his permission, and sat on his windowsill. He closed the door and sat on the bed. Then he started crying. And she just sat there, silent. He told her how stupid it sounded whenever he heard people say his mother was dead, because he didn't know how to exist in a world without her.

Astrid stayed silent. And it was didn't make anything okay, but it was enough.

She was there, she understood, and that was enough.

**A/N:** I know, I totally stole the last part from Gray's Anatomy. I just thought it was one of the best moments of the show EVER. It was a perfect Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, I swear, especially when you put their characters into context.

So yeah, this chapter was a total rip-off, which I admit, but I'm not exactly writing fanfiction because of any brilliant originality, so expect stuff like this to crop up from time to time. Not very often, but yeah.

Also, I'm trying out a new style here, if anyone noticed. Is it too awkward?

I'm also reminding people that they should send in ideas and prompts which I will, of course, credit. I just need some ideas to get the juices flowing.

As always, thanks for reading and please send feedback!


	4. Just a Minute

**Title:** Just a minute

**Summary:** "Can you not be my father?"

**Disclaimer:** What part of FAN FICTION is hard to understand? I don't own Beauty and the Beast, and I don't own How to Train Your Dragon. They belong to whoever they do. I'm not here to make money; I'm just here to entertain.

Stoick sat at the dinner table, at a loss for words. This was _horrible_!

In front of him sat Hiccup's report card.

It was the worst report card he'd ever seen. However, he wasn't too surprised, and was therefore not very disappointed. But that just made him feel much, much worse, not to mention extremely guilty for not being outraged.

**Burk Viking Pre-training Program Report Card**

**Name of Child: **Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

**Beginner Burping: 1/10**

_Can burp. At least. But not at will._

Gobber the Belch

**Basic Aggression: 3/10**

_Will fight back when necessary, but refuses to take initiative!_

Gobber the Belch

**Beginner Rudery: -4/10**

_(Here was just a bunch of scribbles and scratch marks)_

Gobber

**Basic Weapons Knowledge: 9/10**

_Is very good at knowing things about the weapons. Not so good at using them. Has held a hammer and nearly killed someone. DO NOT LET HIM USE A SWORD. __**EVER**__._

Gormus the Grim

**Beginner Ship Sailing: 1/10**

_Can not seem to find his sea legs. At least he doesn't get sea sick._

Gobber the Belch

**Advanced Survival: 5/10**

_Is scarily competent at starting fires. Not very good at putting them out. Refuses to hunt or set traps, despite being an excellent shelter builder._

Gobber the Belch

**Basic Beer Drinking: -1/10**

_Ridiculously light weight. Even mead gets him drunk. On a full stomach._

Baggybum the Beerbelly

**Introduction to Bashy-ball: 0/10**

_An excellent strategist. But it still cannot make up for fact that he is on his team. Spends most of his time being sat on. _

Rugged Rita

What was _this_? Stoick didn't expect his son to be the top of the class. But _how_ could Hiccup get _a negative score_ for Beginner Rudery? And _nothing at all_ for Bashy-ball? Bashy-ball had been his favorite subject when _he_ was younger.

He thought about it, and getting decent grades _wasn't_ too much to ask from his son. _Now_ he was starting to get mad. Mad and disappointed. He sat at that table waiting for his son, working up some anger to lecture Hiccup with when the boy got home.

It was nearly dark when Hiccup got home. He burst through the door and, without so much as Stoick's by-your-leave, he ran up to his room.

'_At least he's working on his Rudery.'_ Thought Stoick.

Calming down a bit and starting to get hungry, the chief started making dinner. There was a bit of melancholy in him as he did. Valhallarama…

At some point Hiccup must have come down, because Stoick didn't notice his son until the boy was right beside him.

"Dad?" he said nervously.

'_Ah'_ Stoick thought. _'He's come to face the music about his report card. Maybe I'll go easy on him.'_

Hiccup couldn't seem to continue.

"Spit it out, boy." Stoick said as he carefully lowered an egg into some boiling water. Didn't want it to break.

"Could you _not_ be my father?"

Shock would have been an understatement. Stoick dropped the egg into the boiling water and got scalded. For years people had been hinting at him, telling him in not so many words to disown Hiccup. Stoick would have wanted to see their faces now that the tables had been turned. It would have been funny, if it didn't make him so incredibly sad.

"_What?_" he all but bellowed

"Dad, your hand!" but Hiccup wasn't paying attention to what he was saying (as usual). The boy ran to get a rag and some snow from outside. Stoick sat on a chair and waited for him to return. The burn wasn't a big deal, but Stoick felt better because his son still called him dad. When Hiccup had fussed over it enough (his hand was starting to turn a bit red), he started talking.

"What's this about not being your dad?" Stoick asked.

Hiccup was now more nervous than he had been before. He looked at his feet and couldn't seem to know what to do with his hands.

"Could you not be my dad for a minute?" He asked quietly. Hearing it for a second time didn't make it sound any better.

"For a minute?" Stoick repeated, a bit numb.

Hiccup kept going.

"Pretend you're not my dad." He said "and tell me the truth."

He paused "Am I a freak?" he whispered.

Now that things were a bit clearer, Stoick understood.

"No, son you're not." And he said it with such conviction that he felt a bit proud of himself.

But apparently, that wasn't the answer Hiccup was looking for.

"You're lying!" he yelled. Nobody had yelled like that at Stoick in years. (_'So much for that 3 in aggression.'_)

"You're my dad! You have to say that! I want you to _pretend_ you're _not_ and tell me! _Honestly_!" He continued shouting. "Am I a freak?"

Now, Stoick didn't take kindly to being called a liar, and he started getting angry. But then he looked down at his son. He looked down at his son's small freckled face, his suspiciously bright eyes, and the defiant set of his jaw. Stoick looked at poor, inadequate Hiccup, and couldn't find it in himself to be angry.

"_I_ don't think you're a freak. Son." He said quietly (a feat for someone as loud as Stoick tended to be.) That seemed to take the anger right out of Hiccup, and he deflated, sitting down on the chair beside Stoick's.

Neither of them could think of anything to say after that.

"Hiccup?" Stoick asked as soft as he could after a while. "Who told you that you were a freak, Hiccup?"

"No one _had_ to tell me." Hiccup said. Stoick was dismayed at the bitterness in his son's voice. "I figured it out on my own."

Hiccup then looked at his father in wry surprise. "I'm not stupid, dad." Between the staring, whispers, and the avoidance, he had picked that up on his own. Today had just been a particularly bad day. He'd get Dogsbreath back. One day.

"I wish your mother were here."

"Me too."

"Still," Stoick said. "Something must have happened today."

"Let's just say that some of the other kids are really good at practicing Beginner Rudery during Bashy-ball." Hiccup said wryly. He seemed so completely calm now that Stoick almost had trouble remembering that his son had been shouting at him just a little while ago.

They sat like that for a while. Until the chicken Stoick had put in the spit above the fire burst into flames.

"Odin's—!"

"Aahhh!"

They laughed as they put out the fire, and sat in comfortable silence as they ate what bits they could.

Hiccup may not have been the son Stoick imagined he'd have one day. He wasn't strong, he wasn't loud, and Stoick just _knew_ that he wasn't normal.

But he _wasn't_ a freak.

"Tomorrow, we start working out!"

"No, Dad—"

"I can't have those other kids thinking they can beat the chief's son at Bashy-ball whenever they feel like it! What would we do at the next Thing?"

"_Dad!_"

It was a temporary thing, this comfortableness with his son. But Stoick would take what he could get.

**A/N:** This is the first time that a formal kind of schooling has come up, and some of you may be asking "How do the event of DatD happen if there's school?"

The simple (and rather cop-out) answer to that is: Winter break. Yeah, that's right. I know.

I have a question. Does anyone else want some stories based on the other children? These are basically extended drabbles anyway. Would it be okay if I shifted the focus away from Hiccup from time to time?

Also, I want everyone to know that there _are_ more kids in Burk besides Hiccup's core group. There are even more than the basic twelve in the books. It's not a small tribe. I'm just avoiding the OC trap for a while and focusing on developing the already existing characters.

Hiccup seesaws between acting childish and acting like an adult, I know, but isn't that in character for him? Also, the Thing is this, well, thing in the books that involve Bashy-ball. Yeah.

I'm also reminding people that they should send in ideas and prompts which I will, of course, credit. I just need some ideas to get the juices flowing.

As always, thanks for reading and please send feedback!


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